Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
Our first day in Costa Rica and what a started we had! It was truly a nice welcome into this Central American tropical region.
We awoke inside of Golfo Dulce in the south part of the country where we cleared customs and immigration early in the morning during breakfast.
This is a really deep and narrow gulf which may seem like it was created by a glacier, but in fact, it was created by a tectonic fault and is surrounded by lush green tropical forests all over. So this morning after breakfast, we started exploring this marvelous place. We spent the morning in a place known as Casa Orquideas, the house of orchids which is like a tropical botanical garden right next to the shore line owned by a couple that have been collecting plants from all over the world for over twenty years and has made of the garden quite a remarkable botanical display worth seeing.
So this morning we saw all kinds of orchids, heliconias, bromilias, palms, and many other kinds that we had no clue about their existence, especially the miracle fruit capable of turning the bitter flavor of some fruits into a sweet flavor. But that wasn’t all. As an added bonus, we got to see different species of birds that are attracted to the garden like tanager and honey creepers, white hawks, and even a king vulture. But that wasn’t the end of it. We also has the opportunity to see what are known as tent making bats that actually make tents out of big leaves to sleep during the day time in this tropical forest as you can see in the picture. After the garden, we had time to enjoy a nice swim from the stern of the ship which was just perfect to cool off in this tropical warm weather.
During the afternoon, we explored the mangrove forest surrounding the river mouth of Rio Rincon where we saw a white ibis, roseted spoonbills, jacanas, toucans, and egrets amount other things.
Our first day in Costa Rica and what a started we had! It was truly a nice welcome into this Central American tropical region.
We awoke inside of Golfo Dulce in the south part of the country where we cleared customs and immigration early in the morning during breakfast.
This is a really deep and narrow gulf which may seem like it was created by a glacier, but in fact, it was created by a tectonic fault and is surrounded by lush green tropical forests all over. So this morning after breakfast, we started exploring this marvelous place. We spent the morning in a place known as Casa Orquideas, the house of orchids which is like a tropical botanical garden right next to the shore line owned by a couple that have been collecting plants from all over the world for over twenty years and has made of the garden quite a remarkable botanical display worth seeing.
So this morning we saw all kinds of orchids, heliconias, bromilias, palms, and many other kinds that we had no clue about their existence, especially the miracle fruit capable of turning the bitter flavor of some fruits into a sweet flavor. But that wasn’t all. As an added bonus, we got to see different species of birds that are attracted to the garden like tanager and honey creepers, white hawks, and even a king vulture. But that wasn’t the end of it. We also has the opportunity to see what are known as tent making bats that actually make tents out of big leaves to sleep during the day time in this tropical forest as you can see in the picture. After the garden, we had time to enjoy a nice swim from the stern of the ship which was just perfect to cool off in this tropical warm weather.
During the afternoon, we explored the mangrove forest surrounding the river mouth of Rio Rincon where we saw a white ibis, roseted spoonbills, jacanas, toucans, and egrets amount other things.
